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His phone buzzed with a familiar number. He swiped at it and put it to his ear. “Yeah.”
“Tomorrow night at eleven. The second level elevators in the parking garage of the Golden Nugget.”
The call disconnected and Mamba shoved the phone in pocket. His eyes swept over his bangin’ backyard one more time. Yeah, no matter what, he’d make sure his family had the best life ever.
He eased the slider shut as not to wake Mandy. The last month of pregnancy was knocking the shit out of her. Between running her nail salon and the extra weight on her tiny frame, she was tired most of the time, but it never changed her sweet, upbeat personality. Her father abandoned his family leaving her mother to slave at two low paying jobs and two brothers to fend for themselves. Ajax, her middle brother, turned to life on the street until a war broke out between the Serpents and the Marauders. Mamba warned Ajax to get out of Vegas for his own protection, and he fled never to be seen again. Unfortunately, her older brother turned to cage fighting and a bout between him and Mamba flipped sideways with a disastrous end. All this history tangled up their relationship, but in the end, Mandy came back to him.
She looked so peaceful and content all snuggled up in their king-sized bed, and he would do absolutely anything to keep her that way.
* * *
Mandy lovedSundays for two reasons. The nail salon was closed and Mamba spent the day at home. Lately, he’d been fighting more than usual and taking extra hours at Club Wicked where he ran security. Between that and the hours she put in at the nail salon, their time together was limited.
Mandy’s dream of owning her own salon came true right around the time she found out she was pregnant. Both were wonderful additions to her life but starting and running a new business in the throws of pregnancy provided challenges.
She gazed out the kitchen window at the glistening water of their beautiful pool as she whipped up her smoothie. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined living in such a magnificent home, or how Mamba would’ve added a special wing for her mother and brother, Achilles. Sometimes she wondered and worried about the payments, but Mamba assured her everything was under control, and she had no reason to doubt him.
Strong arms wrapped around her from behind. “How did you sleep last night?” Mamba whispered in her ear.
“Perfect. Especially when somebody woke me up with their tongue.”
“Mmm, that was my favorite part too.” He nipped at her ear lobe. “My girl is greedy lately.”
Truth. This pregnancy amped up her sex drive in an unexpected way. Sex with Mamba was already off the charts before she was pregnant but now she craved it like some women craved chocolate. She mentioned it to her OBGYN and she said it was perfectly normal for a woman’s sex drive to increase during pregnancy.
Mamba certainly didn’t complain, especially after a winning night in the cage.
“Won’t be long now.” Mamba palmed Mandy’s bump, and the baby rolled and shifted. “Shit, still can’t get over you got our baby in there.” He spun her around to face him. “Although, I would like to know what sex it is.”
“Yes, I understand you paid a visit to Dr. Harper last week, alone.”
“I figured I could make a deal with her.” Mamba shrugged. “Seems like she’s as stubborn as you.”
“Bribing my doctor with free oil changes at Joker’s garage in exchange for revealing the sex of the baby.” Mandy swatted him on the arm. “You are such an outlaw.”
“It was worth a try.” He flashed his trademark smirk. “It’s driving me fuckin’ crazy.”
“I want it to be a surprise.” She patted her protruding stomach. “The doctor says I might be going early so you’ll find out soon enough.”
“I was thinking of having one of the prospects shadow you since I’ll be putting in a few more nights bouncing at Club Wicked.”
“I don’t need anyone shadowing me and why are you putting in more nights at Wicked? You’ve won every fight for the last two months.” She cupped his cheek. “You’re trying to do way too much.”
“It’s never enough, babe.” He nodded to her belly. “I want you and him or her to have everything I didn’t.”
“We already have way more than I ever imagined. Way more than I even need.”
“I know but—”
“I don’t want you to feel you’re under any pressure. You being you and being here for me and our baby is enough for me.”
Mamba nuzzled her neck, and she hoped she made her point. Lately, Mamba’s almost manic desire to have the best and buy everything new put her on edge. Like he was trying to prove something or running a race against himself.
Mamba nodded to the pool where Achilles was being helped into the water by his physical therapist. “The therapist said the water is good for his mobility.”
“You’ve done everything possible for him.”
Two years ago, an unintentional blow from Mamba at an underground cage fight put Achilles in a wheelchair with brain damage, and Mamba behind bars for assault. Mamba still blamed himself even though he did his time. So much so, that when they bought this house, Mamba insisted on moving her mother and Achilles in and making his wing wheelchair accessible.
